Imagine you could see a virtual animated object or figure standing right in front of you, with all the realism of an actual object in space. When you move your head, the animated figure knows where you are, and turns to look at you. If you get nearer or farther, the sense of reality and dimensionality is maintained.
Imagine further that the display device to support this fits easily on your desk top or mounted on your door or wall, does not require you to wear any special glasses or equipment over your eyes, has no moving parts, and can be made on the order of an inch or two thick from back to front. The spatial resolution would be fully equal to that of a modern LCD display.
This would open up many practical applications. Molecular biologists or CAD designers could work directly with their models, without needing to wear eye-apparatus that would otherwise impede their vision. Unlike existing autostereo displays, these users would not need to remain at a constant distance from the screen. A surgeon could see, in full stereo three dimensions, an interior view of the patient, without being required to wear any eye-apparatus that would otherwise hinder the view of the real patient. Video telephony could offer the immediacy and spatial depth of true face to face conversation. An interactive animated figure could be presented to the public in stores and other venues with the same immediacy as an animatronic figure, but without the latter's expense and physical limitations. Consumers could interact with games or animated characters at home which possess a complete sense of realism and dimensionality.
This technology would make possible a portable display, about the size of a notebook computer without the keyboard, which could be moved around freely in position and orientation. It would enable a person looking through it to see different views of a virtual object in the room.